Election Reform is Needed

Our democracy is at peril. In a system where money equals speech, the rich can afford to drown out the rest. In a system where money equals speech, the rich can afford to drown out the rest. They own mainstream media outlets, fund the Commission on Presidential Debates, bankroll think tanks and policy institutes, fund academic research, finance artificial grassroots (“astroturf”) organizations — in short, the wealthy have built a propaganda empire that manufactures consent for all things contrary to the public interest. In addition, they underwrite influence factories such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), institutionalizing and streamlining the quid pro quo process and matching corporate contributors with legislators-for-hire in a highly structured arrangement that leaves voters entirely out of the loop. The Citizens United ruling was a serious blow to American democracy, which is now for sale to the highest bidder.

There is the further problem. Joseph Stalin said, "You know, comrades, that I think in regard to this: I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this — who will count the votes, and how." There is increasingly evidence documented below in ever increasing references that the votes are not being correctly counted.

The League of Women Voters first warned of the coming widespread corruption of the duopoly back in 1988 when it withdrew its sponsorship of the presidential debates because it “would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter." League President Nancy M. Neuman said "It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and honest answers to tough questions…The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public." Neuman called "outrageous" the campaigns' demands that they control the selection of questioners, the composition of the audience, hall access for the press and other issues. "Never in the history of the League of Women Voters have two candidates' organizations come to us with such stringent, unyielding and self-serving demands." The League of Women Voters should be remembered for its brave stand against corruption even though it cost them some power. See League Refuses to "Help Perpetrate a Fraud".

You can read of our election reform activities in our Annual Reports and Public Comments under More, check the joint activities of Our Allies, or check our Facebook Page. For more information on third party news see Ballot Access News.

I have also included the below references supporting our positions. The reason I have so many references is to show this is a steadily increasing trend that I continuously update. It is not a vanishing blip on the radar. Failure to deal with this trend will have disastrous consequences for the future.

The Union of Concerned Scientists published a “Disinformation Playbook.” The playbook features several tactics used by a broad range of industries to sideline science in policy making.

We support full public financing of elections in order to remove undue influence from political campaigns. Further, we recognize and are committed to ending the myriad opportunities for fraud which now exist in our electoral system. In the absence of comprehensive campaign finance reform, first legislation should impose transparency on the current system. There is no public purpose or privacy objective that justifies massive amounts of hidden dark money being used to promote illegitimate political goals. Then reasonable limits on campaign contributions from organizations, corporations, and individuals - such as we have had successfully for decades in the twentieth century - should be imposed.

Therefore:

We support uniform ballot-access laws that make it easier for all political parties to include their candidates on the ballot.

We endorse the use of auditable, hand-counted paper ballots in all local, state, and federal elections.

We support the abolition of the Electoral College, such that the President of the United States would be elected solely through a direct popular vote.

We support efforts to stop "gerrymandering" political lines to protect incumbents so that newcomers are excluded.

We also support an eventual lessening of the power of the US Senate to block legislation. The idea of "one man - one vote" does not apply to the senate. A Wyoming vote for the US Senate is about 60 times more powerful than a California vote. The great compromise between the populous states and the states sparsely populated in the making of the constitution no longer serves us well. The United States Senate is well known as a place where good ideas go to die.

Corporate law must be rewritten to overturn Citizens United. One way to do this is through a constitutional amendment that would establish that money is not speech and that corporations are not persons. In the absence of comprehensive campaign finance reform, legislation would first impose transparency and then limits on the current system.

In line with public financing, all qualifying candidates must have free and equal access to radio, television, and press coverage, and be included in any and all public debate forums.

Erasing History One Forgotten Political Expenditure at a Time - See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2014/09/187843/erasing-history-one-forgotten-political-expenditure-time#sthash.UUWyhnGe.dpuf

Erasing History One Forgotten Political Expenditure at a Time - See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2014/09/187843/erasing-history-one-forgotten-political-expenditure-time#sthash.UUWyhnGe.dpuf

- See more at: http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/content/how-us-securities-and-exchange-commission-could-require-transparency-corporate-political-exp#sthash.qXVvIjIN.dpuf

How the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Could Require Transparency for Corporate Political Expenditures - See more at: http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/content/how-us-securities-and-exchange-commission-could-require-transparency-corporate-political-exp#sthash.qXVvIjIN.dpuf

How the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Could Require Transparency for Corporate Political Expenditures - See more at: http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/content/how-us-securities-and-exchange-commission-could-require-transparency-corporate-political-exp#sthash.qXVvIjIN.dpuf

570-Declaraation of American Democracy This organization is an ally of the New Progressive Alliance. "Together we must build a democracy where everyone participates, every vote is counted, voting rights are fully enforced, and everyone’s voice is heard. We deserve to have a say in decisions that affect our lives, and to be fairly represented by elected officials who are responsive to our needs in order to make our lives better."